Sero had spent days in the same place, in the same posture, with the same restraints.
He could barely feel his legs; his butt and lower back hurt like hell, his body had thinned a lot, and overall, he was very weak. No one could offer any resistance in such conditions. No one who lacked the will to do so.
Sero's will had faltered. He had given up, unaccustomed to pain, his youthful, inexperienced mind giving way to desperation and fear. He questioned his decisions, his simplistic thinking about what it truly meant to be a Hero and face evil.
Evil was not as he had imagined it. Villains were not as he had imagined them, or as they were presented on TV.
He doubted his incredulous view of reality, about his training as a Hero at UA. He remembered the forceful actions of some of his classmates, such as Bakugo and Todoroki, like the Terumi siblings.
They didn't play games; they didn't see things the same way he did.
A deep hatred had been growing in his chest, unsure whether it was directed at the girl who tortured him or at himself, for having been so stupid, so naive, so cowardly. So weak.
Now, an unusual, inexplicable event presented itself before him. One he didn't pay due attention to until his dull eyes fixed on the handle of the knife stuck in his thigh, sending him waves of burning pain that he barely registered.
Toga Himiko was slowly recovering from a sudden bout of sneezing that left her disabled on the floor, groaning and sobbing in a puddle of fluids that the UA student didn't bother to identify.
Sero's dull mind came back online, his blunted senses rapidly sharpened, allowing him to taste the blood in his mouth, catch the stench of his dirty body after days of torture and without having taken a bath, his ears picked up Toga Himiko's ragged breathing, and his ailments assaulted him in an intense blow of agony, as if a mental dam had been holding back the pain and was now broken.
His expressionless face slowly contorted, his jaw tightened, and his eyes scanned the surroundings, finding several dusty objects here and there.
Resolve exploded in his chest, filling his body with a strength he shouldn't possess and his mind with a will he never thought he could manifest.
Sero took a deep breath, relaxing his weakened and aching muscles, concentrating his chaotic mind. The decision was made, the action was inevitable, the outcome unknown. But he would try, no matter the cost.
The young man exerted force and leaned to one side, his eyes fixed on Toga's disoriented figure as he felt the restraints tighten over his arms. He had been wrapped up in such a way that he couldn't use his Quirk, and if he tried...
His numb arm suddenly regained feeling, forced into an extremely uncomfortable position by Sero's movement, but he continued nonetheless.
The chair squeaked, the restraints reached their limit, and Sero's arm bent past the healthy range. The boy almost let out a pitiful groan, but he refused to ruin his only chance.
Crack!
Toga Himiko suddenly turned her head, startled by the sudden wet crunch behind her. She found Sero Hanta in his chair, strangely tilted to the left, with the restraints pressing tightly around his torso and an expression of madness on his face, looking at her with defiance and a gleam of delight.
—...W-what are you— she murmured with narrowed eyes, a consequence of the excess tears that had streamed down uncontrollably moments ago.
Her reaction was too late when she noticed a piece of tape protruding from Sero's back, shot in a straight line toward one of the room's walls.
With a sudden movement, Sero was pulled in that direction so fast that Himiko, still recovering from the horrible sneezing fit, didn't have time to intervene.
Not much consideration was given to Sero. They didn't see him as a threat, but as an irrelevant brat whose only function would be to embarrass UA and All Might in front of the public—nothing more, nothing less.
His restraints consisted of ropes and straps, blocking his elbows, and the chair was a simple piece of thin metal. Even if he managed to break free, no one believed he could defeat a single League member.
Sero exerted force as best he could, feeling an agonizing burn in his damaged limb and managing to position himself horizontally.
Upon impact, the chair legs bent and burst open, the ropes tightly tied to them collaborating in the process and ruining the entire convoluted system of knots and folds that kept Sero immobile.
—Hnngh!— the boy groaned with his eyes tightly shut, resisting as best he could the shockwave that traveled through his butt and back upon impact, as well as the already mistreated arm and the movement of the blade still stuck in his flesh.
—Who told you that you could move?!— Himiko roared, lunging at the boy with a knife in hand and her face still sticky.
Sero's eyes snapped open, and he quickly grabbed one of the broken chair legs with his good hand, swinging it as best he could against Himiko and intercepting the blade.
—Hey!— the girl shrieked, backing away with her hand clutching her chest, pained by the violent blow.
Sero stood up with difficulty, shaking off the now-loosened ropes and cradling his broken arm. With a quick, precise movement, he pulled the knife from his leg and shot his tape at the wound, covering it as best he could. He didn't have much time now.
Bleeding out in such a lamentable state would lead to his collapse very soon. He had to finish this now.
—Aah, Sero-Kun, you really have guts. I didn't expect you to make such a bold move in my presence~
—...
—But, you know what? At this point, the kitten should have already been picked up by Kurogiri, and your function as a hostage is over. That means you are no longer useful to us, Sero-Kun... Do you understand what I mean~?
—I'm going to kill you— Sero said coldly, tightening his grip on the knife.
Himiko smiled widely, pulling out another blade from somewhere and taking a combat stance.
Before either of them could make a move, a powerful crash was heard, and a shockwave made the room tremble, destabilizing them in their respective positions.
Himiko took another step back, snapping her head back just in time to avoid the slice Sero aimed at her throat.
She was taken by surprise. Not by the young man's speed, but by the clear murderous intent emanating from him, by the raw willingness to kill. She didn't expect it at all.
For Sero, things were simple: She tortured him, he would make her pay. She wanted to kill him, he would kill her. His hand no longer trembled at the idea.
—Sero-Kun, what's wrong with you?!— Himiko called out with a bewildered tone, although her excited expression stated otherwise. She skillfully evaded the boy's crude and savage lunges, whose experience handling such weapons was mediocre.
He just slashed and stabbed like any street thug.
—Shut up!— Sero spat furiously, feeling his dwindling strength deplete second by second, the bleeding continuing and a cold sensation taking hold of his chest that had been overflowing with energy until now. The adrenaline gave way to blood loss; his time was running out.
A second crash reached his ears, closer than the first. Knowing what was coming, Sero shot his tape at the ceiling and pulled himself up, avoiding stumbling from the next shockwave.
Himiko wasn't so lucky, stumbling from the violent shaking that cracked the walls.
Sero propelled himself with a tug, much weaker than the one he used to break his arm, but enough to direct him toward Himiko.
He shot another piece of tape, trapping the girl's hand that held the knife and pulling her toward himself.
Himiko tried to resist, but she was unbalanced. Her eyes widened, and her pupils contracted, raising her free hand to protect herself from the stab.
—DIIIEEE!— Sero roared, plunging the blade into Himiko's hand and through it, bringing the girl down with his weight.
They both rolled on the ground, with Sero taking the superior position by straddling the girl, pressing down with all his weight while she tried to prevent the sharp point from descending to her neck.
Sero's strength was fading, his vision darkening. Himiko's arm trembled, her teeth clenched, sweat running down her face, and her other hand wrapped in tape, useless.
—Let me go, let me go damn it!— she hissed, using her taped hand to punch the boy in the face, but Sero pushed harder.
Himiko's pierced palm slowly descended, the tip of the blade scraping her flesh. She became desperate, Sero almost passed out.
At that moment, the room door exploded, and two bodies were thrown inside, nearly hitting Sero in the process.
Himiko recognized one of the figures, her eyes shining with hope.
—Twice, help me!— she yelled to her comrade.
—Sero, my boy!— a deep voice roared with a mixture of urgency, anger, and relief.
All Might emerged from the dust cloud with a stern expression, his eyes blazing as he stared at the scene unfolding before him. It was not what he expected; surprise froze him for a second.
Himiko also froze in place, growing even more desperate at the presence of the Number 1 Hero. But that was a fatal mistake.
Sero ignored the explosion, ignored the villains who were sent flying, ignored the Hero, his Hero and Teacher who had come to rescue him. All Sero noticed was that Himiko's resistance gave way for an instant.
He seized that instant and made one last effort with everything he had left, barely registering All Might's shout and Himiko's gasp of surprise.
His eyes rolled back, and he fell into unconsciousness.